1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a carrier tape reel assembly which includes two reel halves with detent locks. The two reel halves can be disassembled and stacked in a compact configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, it is known to use a two-piece reel for the storing and shipping of flexible sheet media. The flexible sheet material can be film, tape, or elongated ribbons. The flexible sheet material can likewise be laminated sheet material for packaging a plurality of parts, electrical components, and the like, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,534 entitled xe2x80x9cConvertible Reel Assemblyxe2x80x9d issued on Feb. 23, 1988 to Chenoweth. This reference uses inner and outer circles of interengaging ears along with a circle of locks which have interengaging lips which prevent reverse or backward rotation of the reel sections thereby maintaining the interlocking ears of the reel section in holding relationship with each other. However, the rotational movement required for assembly is inconvenient and may result in a strength of connection which is less than satisfactory. Additionally, this reference does not appear to provide any mechanism to assure alignment of the open tape slots between the two reel portions.
Reel Services manufactures a reel which includes reel halves with detent elements which are assembled with a longitudinal motion. However, the detent elements are not positioned rotationally symmetrically. That is, the two male detent elements on a reel half are separated from each other by ninety degrees. Likewise, the two female detent elements are separated from each other by ninety degrees.
Other prior art references have similar deficiencies such as complicated assembly procedures with rotational movements, rotational engagements which may not be adequately secure against inadvertent disengagement or may be difficult to separate when desired. Similarly, some prior art references may not provide for simple stacking and shipping of the reel halves prior to assembly. Moreover, some prior art references may have complicated designs or protrusions in the locking mechanisms which are easily damaged.
Some prior references include U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,477 entitled xe2x80x9cVirtually Fully Engagable Stacking Reel Componentxe2x80x9d issued on Aug. 24, 1999 to Basili et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,186 entitled xe2x80x9cMulti-Part Reel for Electrical Terminals and the Likexe2x80x9d issued on Jul. 14, 1998 to Bakker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,399 entitled xe2x80x9cTape Reelxe2x80x9d issued on Jul. 2,1996 to Weisburn et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,850 entitled xe2x80x9cCarrier Tape Reel Assemblyxe2x80x9d issued on Jun. 11, 1996 to Liao; U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,381 entitled xe2x80x9cTape Reelxe2x80x9d issued on Oct. 7, 1980 to Katata; U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,309 entitled xe2x80x9cBobbin for Cinematographic Filmsxe2x80x9d issued on Jan. 11, 1977 to Ruiz-Barbotteau; U.S. Pat. No. 2,494,612 entitled xe2x80x9cSeparable Moving Picture Film Reelxe2x80x9d issued on Oct. 31, 1947 to Goldberg et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,819,337 entitled xe2x80x9cReelxe2x80x9d issued on Aug. 18, 1931 to Pevear.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with reel halves which can be assembled quickly and easily.
It is therefore a further object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with reel halves which are secure against relative rotation after assembly, but which can be easily disassembled when desired.
It is therefore a still further object of the present assembly to provide a tape reel assembly with reel halves which include structure to assure alignment of the open tape slots of the reel halves.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with two reel halves with engagement structure which is not susceptible to damage.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with reel halves which can be stacked easily for storage and shipment prior to assembly.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with reel halves which can accommodate a number of different widths of media by varying the total thickness of the hub formed by the two reel halves.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with reel halves wherein the detent elements of like gender are placed rotationally symmetrically with respect to each other.
It is therefore a still further object of the present invention to provide a tape reel assembly with a simple design, which is economical to manufacture.
These and other objects are attained by providing a tape reel assembly comprised of two halves. Each half is substantially identical to the other, although halves with different hub thicknesses can be joined to vary the resulting hub thickness for different widths of media. The halves each include two longitudinally oriented male detent elements which are opposed 180 degrees apart from each other. Similarly, two longitudinally oriented female detent elements are opposed 180 degrees apart from each other and 90 degrees apart from each male detent element. While the detent elements are positioned rotationally symmetrically about the reel halves, the male detent elements themselves include rotationally asymmetric ridges which align with rotationally asymmetric grooves in the female detent elements to assure that the open tape slots of the two reel halves are properly aligned. The longitudinal orientation of the detent elements provides for the reel halves to be secured to each other by a single straight-line motion of the reel halves without need for rotation during attachment. Moreover, the longitudinal orientation of these elements eliminates any reasonable possibility of relative rotation of the reel halves after proper engagement.